Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet goes on sale next year!

The sensational vehicle combining a 4-wheel-drive crossover and a soft-top convertible goes in production.

The CrossCabriolet is to hit showroom early next year for about $45,000 for well-equipped 265-hp version.

Having achieved success with non-orthodox models like the Juke (and before that with the Rogue, the Murano and the Infiniti FX), Nissan is expanding its non-conformists` line-up even further. What, the niche of "crossover coupes" has already been taken by BMW X6? Then meet a crossover convertible!From technical standpoint, the Murano CrossCabriolet is virtually identical to the standard Murano: it's an about 188-inch long, 4-wheel-drive crossover with seating for four and good 265-hp V6 engine.

The biggest difference from the standard Murano are:

1) cloth top (with rear glass panel) which is power-operated. 2) there are just two doors instead of four. Each door is about 8 inches longer to provide access to the rear passengers` seats

3) the trunk and the whole rear of the vehicle`s body is now more sedan-like, with smaller trunk door (about 1/3rd of which is occupied by the roof when its stowed)

The second row of the CrossCabriolet looks significantly tighter than in the standard Murano, but still its real seats and not some "place for bags" like in many convertibles.

In case of rollover, two roll bars behind the rear seats pop-up to protect the passengers.

The list of equipment is going to be quite respectful, with standard features like keyless entry and engine start, power leather-trimmed seats, Bose stereo with 9-Gb hard drive, powered and heated steering wheel, XM satellite radio etc.

The Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet goes on sale early next year. The prices haven`t been revealed yet, but it's expected that the CrossCabriolet will cost about $45,000, just about $5.000 extra over the standard Murano.